


Stress Relief

by Gorgeous Nerd (gorgeousnerd)



Category: Star Trek (2009)
Genre: Character of Color, F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-07-31
Updated: 2009-07-31
Packaged: 2017-10-18 03:37:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/184563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gorgeousnerd/pseuds/Gorgeous%20Nerd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Uhura's having a hard time back at Starfleet Academy, and the sources of two of her problems are the only places she can find solutions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stress Relief

**Author's Note:**

> Also on [LJ](http://community.livejournal.com/chomalfoyfics/16171.html) and [DW](http://firmament.dreamwidth.org/9390.html).

A new room. Uhura sighed.

 _It's your last year as a cadet_ , she told herself as she climbed in the turbolift. _You can handle it._

There were perks to being close to graduation. The quarters she was assigned were supposed to be twice the size of the closets younger cadets used, and she only had one roommate now. That wouldn't be the case if she weren't in officer training, too. If she attained a high enough rank on a ship, she might not have to share quarters at all.

And there was a lot worse to deal with than sharing a room. Like Jim Kirk. If she never heard that name again...

The doors whisked open, and cheerful whistling drifted in her direction. Uhura took a breath, smiled, then stepped around the frosted glass barrier.

"Uhura!" The woman sitting on the twin near the closets grinned. A smile was all she was wearing.

Her smile froze in place. "Gaila."

Gaila sat up. "I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd be back for another hour. Smith told me..."

"They released us early, to get our room assignments. Is there a guy here?"

"No. Why?"

"Then why--"

Gaila looked down at her body. "Oh, my uniform. I'm sorry, it's just...I didn't know the next time I'd be getting alone time."

Uhura held up a hand. "It's fine. I was just surprised."

"Sure!" Gaila stood up and moved toward her drawers. "Do you like women?"

"Like? You mean..."

Gaila shrugged, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she bent. "Like, have sex with women."

That surprised a laugh out of Uhura. She shook her head. "Not that I know of."

"Well, you will soon enough."

"I...what?"

Gaila unzipped the back of her dress and set it low enough to step into. "We have a pheromone thing. Orions."

She paused, so Uhura assumed she was waiting for a response. "Oh."

"It works on most species, human included. I asked for solo quarters, but housing doesn't seem to get that women are just as vulnerable as men."

Uhura considered this. She'd heard about the effects Orions had – and hell, she'd seen how guys stared at Gaila during classes – but she'd always chalked it up to physical appearance. "That could be awkward."

"Tell me about it. I went through three roommates in my first week here. Zip me up?"

Uhura put her bag on her bunk and walked up to Gaila. "Sure."

"You have a boyfriend?"

For some reason, Commander Spock popped into her head. Funny. She pushed the zipper up. "No."

"Too bad," Gaila said, admiring herself in the small mirror on her closet. "Always nice to have someone to...blow off steam with."

Uhura walked back to her bed. "You aren't going to bring guys back here, are you?"

"Um, not if you don't want me to."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It was going to be a long year.

–

As it turned off, Uhura didn't know the half of it.

She could tick off each day of the next week with a disaster. Tuesday: the glitch on her mess card, which led to a day fueled by a single apple and nothing else. Wednesday: the failure of the entire grid in Astrometrics, thanks to a certain laughing hick two seats down from her who managed to escape detection. Thursday: Commander Spock's surprise inspection of her Advanced Lingustics lesson (which actually wasn't that bad, minus the extra breaths she took whenever their eyes met).

Friday: Gaila's second man of the week.

They were deep in it when Uhura bust in, so much so that Gaila didn't notice when the lights turned on and Uhura leaned on the divider between the turbolift and their beds. Gaila had her legs wrapped around him, hiding anything particular vulgar besides their enthusiastic thrusting.

Uhura cleared her throat, and the man fell on the floor. Gaila laughed between her heavy breathing.

"Uhura..." she said. "Hi. I thought...you were going to be--"

"It's a good hour after my watch ended," Uhura replied, sitting on her bed and unzipping her boots. "Your chronometer broken?"

Gaila giggled. "I think Peter sat on it."

Peter – Cadet McGregor – appeared to be wrestling with his briefs. Uhura sighed and placed her boots next to her other pairs of shoes.

"He's getting out of here soon, right?"

"Sorry!" he said in a squeakier voice than she remembered him having.

Gaila stood, again, without a stitch of clothing. She gathered the ball that was McGregor's uniform and handed it to him. He tried to put his pants over his head, then dropped everything. Uhura pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You okay?" Gaila asked. "You look stressed."

"It's been a rough week."

"Are you sleeping okay?"

Uhura shook her head and felt her earrings bounce off her neck. McGregor ran out of the room with a leg through one pant leg and his shirt in his arms.

As soon as the turbolift whooshed closed, Gaila leaned on her bed. Uhura had given up keeping her dressed by Wednesday. "That could be my fault. Seriously, if you're feeling--"

"It could also be stress," Uhura replied, unzipping the back of her dress. Some days, the collar of her uniform choked her. There was more than one perk to being a graduated officer; the uniforms were a little more freeing in Starfleet proper. "Besides, haven't you had enough for one day?"

Gaila grinned. To her surprise, a chill danced across Uhura's skin. "I've never had enough."

–

Uhura found her thoughts turning toward Gaila during her study sessions over the weekend. There was just something about her...something about how free she was, and how unconcerned with what people thought. Uhura wasn't a self-conscious woman, but everyone looked self-conscious next to Gaila.

And the way she worked through the cadets. Uhura had had boyfriends, and sex too, but Gaila set a new bar.

She shook her head and looked back at the datapad. With a sigh, she tried to focus her attentions back on her work.

–

Now, Spock on the other hand...

 _Way to go, Nyota_ , she thought as she walked down the corridor. _Had to pick the most unavailable man in school, didn't you?_

Commander Spock walked in her direction as he spoke with another cadet. The pair hovered over a tablet, and occasionally, Spock would reach out a finger to press the surface. Uhura took a deep breath and forced her muscles to slack. If there was one thing she'd learned at the Academy, it was how to be cool under pressure.

The cadet broke off with a nod and a farewell, then turned around a corner. Uhura and Spock were alone in the area, and his eyes fell on her immediately.

"Good afternoon, cadet."

She stopped. "Sir."

"Your performance in Advanced Linguistics was commendable."

"Thank you, sir." She broke into a cold sweat.

"Carry on."

Uhura nodded. "Yes, sir."

He walked on, and she watched him go with a slight shake of her head. All the regs for fraternization ran through her head, over and over...in his voice...

Yeah. She was doomed.

–

Gaila regarded her with a raised eyebrow. Despite their dissimilarities, this did nothing to settle her mood. "Another tough day?"

"I'm fine," Uhura said, but she threw her skirt across the room to join her shirt, then yanked her earrings out and threw them.

"Uh-huh." Gaila laid on her back. At least she was wearing a bra and panties this time. "Whoever he is, he isn't worth it."

Uhura turned to snap, but she stopped. Instead, she said, "What's it like?"

"What?"

"Sex." She shook her head. Uhura knew what sex was like. "Sex without a relationship."

Gaila shrugged. "You have a relationship with your friends, right?"

"Not one that involves nudity," Uhura said, then put a hand to her mouth.

"I get what you mean," Gaila said with a giggle. "I'm saying you don't need a commitment."

"How?"

"Well," Gaila said, then paused to think for a moment. "I've found two things help."

Uhura sat on her bed. "Okay, what?"

"The first involves action without too much thought. You think too much, then you end up second-guessing yourself, and the whole thing loses its fun."

That was almost word-for-word what cadets were told about decision-making in their first year. Minus the "fun" part, anyway. This was an application that Uhura had never expected. "And the second?"

"Knowing what you're really like," she said. "I can spot guys that wanna get laid, but only with a girlfriend label. They try to go outside that...it gets ugly."

"So you don't sleep with them?"

"Sure I do!" Gaila said brightly. "Experience is the best teacher!"

Uhura had to laugh, but she sobered as she forced out her next thought. "What if I told you..."

When she trailed off, Gaila sat up and nodded. "Told me...?"

"That I wouldn't be against the idea of a little testing? Just out of curiosity."

Gaila stared at her like she was trying to read her mind. Uhura panicked for a moment, then recalled that Orions had no telepathic abilities. Just as she started to relax again, Gaila spoke. "I'd say go for it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. You're the type who doesn't beat yourself up if things don't go the way you expect. You might be surprised, actually."

Uhura shifted across to Gaila's bed. Her throat was so tight she could barely breathe, but she ignored it and said, "So surprise me."

Gaila picked up a hand and ran it over Uhura's hair, closing her eyes and breathing her in. A chill danced across Uhura's skin that had nothing to do with nerves, and she leaned in, inhaling to register Gaila's scent. It wasn't new to her – she caught hints of it whenever she entered the room – but she hadn't quite registered the spicy quality to it before. Foreign, but enticing.

She leaned to whisper in Uhura's ear. "Tell me if you want to stop."

Uhura nodded, then closed her eyes as Gaila leaned forward and kissed her.

It wasn't too different from the kisses she'd had before, actually. Her lips were soft and full, very similar to those of her second-to-last boyfriend. What was different was Gaila's breath; it wasn't anything horrible, but there was that peculiar spiciness to it. Every movement of her mouth seemed to draw it in, and Uhura felt her skin start to warm.

She took her mouth from Gaila's and sighed. "You're really good at that."

Gaila grinned, then leaned into to kiss her neck. She raised a hand to rub on Uhura's back, and Uhura reciprocated, trailing the tips of her fingers across Gaila's bare skin. She wasn't sure she'd ever touched skin so soft before.

In response, Gaila's left hand moved to caress Uhura's hip, then glided across her butt without touching it, and finally coming to a rest on her thigh. Gaila raised her mouth to nibble on Uhura's earlobe, taking a moment to whisper. "Is this okay?"

"Don't stop," Uhura said, her voice barely louder than her heartbeat.

Gaila's hand slid upward, and heat flooded in a rush. Uhura's breath quickened as Gaila's fingers started a careful rhythm; she squeezed her legs together, and a shiver ran all over her body. Sweat broke out on her brow as Gaila picked up the pace; she swept a hand back to keep some of the moisture from trickling into her eyes.

It didn't take long for Uhura to climax, but then, she hadn't wanted much to wait. She allowed her body to shake as it hit her, crying out as she rode the strongest of it, then fell backward onto the bed. Gaila removed her hand from Uhura's skirt and remained sitting up.

"Looks like you needed that," Gaila said, grinning.

Uhura nodded, then slowed her breath enough to speak. "Your turn?"

Gaila shook her head, red curls going everywhere. "I had a date earlier."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." She smiled. "Don't worry. Remembering how your face looked will help me out for a very long time."

–

"Commander Spock?"

Spock stopped and looked back at Uhura. Her heart fluttered, but she kept it under control as she jogged to catch up.

"Yes, Cadet?"

Uhura looked up and down the path. It was sunset, a time not uncommon for walks, but it was also the second week of classes, so there was no one around. A cool breeze was coming off the bay, and she couldn't help but think that the setting was a little...romantic.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Granted." Spock barely tilted his head.

"What sort of leisure activities do you enjoy?" She shook her head. Even if Vulcans enjoyed anything, they wouldn't admit to it. "Rather, what do you do during your off-time?"

"That is a personal question, Cadet."

"Yes, sir."

He didn't dismiss her question, so she waited, and sure enough, he answered. "I most often meditate to consider any problems that need solutions."

She nodded. She hadn't expected anything else. That's why she was surprised when he spoke again.

"I also play the lute."

Uhura smiled. "You're a musician, sir?"

"That would be the correct term."

"I'd love to hear you play sometime," she said without thinking, then gulped. "Sir."

Spock raised an eyebrow. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Cadet, but are you attempting to request we spend leisure time together?"

"You're correct, sir."

"I understand you are aware of the regulations regarding fraternization."

"Yes, sir."

Spock nodded once. "I agree to your request. I will be in contact to make arrangements."

Uhura grinned. "Thank you, sir."

He looked her straight in the eye, and it took all she had to suppress a shiver. "When we're alone, you may call me Spock."

"And you should call me Nyota," she said. "But only if you don't tell Cadet Kirk."

–

Uhura had taken off her boots before she noticed the flustered cadet on the floor. Gaila was lying on her bed, as naked as ever, but she was laughing.

"Oh," Uhura said. "I'm sorry. I can go for a walk, if you want."

Gaila shrugged. "Only if you tell me afterward why your head's at Utopia Planitia."

Uhura picked up her shoes and only flashed a grin as she stepped into the turbolift again.


End file.
